nikiTa
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G7 supports tsunami debt freeze
The G7 group of industrialised nations has announced a freeze on debt payments from the countries affected by the Asian tsunami.
UK Chancellor Gordon Brown unveiled the accord on Friday, ahead of a meeting of the Paris Club of creditor countries on 12 January.
The deal will only freeze repayments, rather than cancel the debt itself.
The G7 is also likely to urge the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to speed up its assistance to the stricken countries.
"We must ensure that those countries are not prevented from paying for essential reconstruction because they are having to fund the servicing of their debts," Mr Brown told reporters.
"So for afflicted countries that request it, the G7 is proposing an immediate suspension of debt repayments.
"And depending on the conclusions of the needs assessments, I believe that the G7 and Paris Club must also stand ready to consider all options for further assistance."
The moratorium is expected to last at least a year, and could be a vehicle to tackle debt in the longer term, the BBC's correspondent Carole Walker learned from a source in the British Treasury.
The UK has said it wants restructuring as well as an immediate freeze, suggesting that Sri Lanka's debt - among others - should be cancelled altogether.
full story:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4154601.stm
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01-07-2005 07:50 PM
